Bulletin Number Five 1985

Department of Journalis m & Communicatio n Established in 1965 ， the Department of Journalism offered a two-year programme for upper-year students leading to a BSSc degree. In 1975 ， it was renamed the Department of Journalism and Communication and began to offer a four-year BSSc Programme. The postgraduate programme leading to a MPhil degree in Communication was introduced in 1977. In th e same year, Professor Wilbur Schramm, one of the founders of Communication Studies, was invited to be the first Visiting Professor in our MPhil Programme. Up to the present, our programmes are the only recognized degree courses in the field of journalism / communication offered in Hong Kong. However, owing to the various constraints in manpower, facilities and equipment, the increase in student intake each year was limited. For the academic year 1985-86 ， the Department has a total of 162 students, including 126 major, twenty-four minor undergraduate, and twelve postgraduate students. There are nine full-time members of the academic staff, ten part-time lecturers, one teaching assistant and four part-time graduate assistants. Programme of Studies Undergraduate The objective of our undergraduate programme is to equip students with the professional knowledge and skills in Journalism/Communication, including news reporting and editing , broadcasting production, advertising/communication research, and media management, etc. The curriculum is designed to achieve a good balance between theoretical and practical courses, with a view to training students' abilities in independent thinking and effective communication. Our graduates are expected to be able to analyse and interpret problems of the modem society and to deliver correct and illuminating messages to the public. Throughout the years, all students are required to take common core courses such as Communication Theories, Laws of Mass Communication and Communication Research Method. Specialization does not begin until the third year when the students will Be admitted into one of the following concentrations: 1. Print Journalism — with emphasis on news editing/translation and business industrial reporting; 2. Broadcasting — with emphasis on radio and television news; 3. Advertising — with emphasis on the communication aspects of advertising. The Summer Internship Programme for the third-year students is an integral part of our curriculum, providing an opportunity for them to gain firsthand experience in the professional world. Postgraduate The principal objective of our two-year MPhil degree programme in Communication is to study the processes and effects of communication in the context of changing societies, particularly the Chinese ones. The Programme is thus research-oriented, rather than course-work based. Students are however required to immerse themselves in advanced methodology and theories before they embark on the difficult task of writing the MPhil thesis. Facilities To promote the above objectives, the Department provides: 1. A 'News Editing Room', supported by typesetting and darkroom facilities for publishing the internship newspaper, The New Shatin; 2. A 'Television Studio' equipped for colour television production and an 'Audio Studio' for sound recording and broadcasting; 3. A ‘Computer Laboratory' for Computer Assisted Instruction in journalistic writing. Research Activities Research has always been a cherished objective of this Department. In those earlier years, efforts RECENT DEVELOPMENTS 31